Top-Heavy

By Sebastian Sprenger / April 23, 2009 at 5:00 AM

Melissa Hathaway, the White House lead for the recently completed 60-day cybersecurity review, didn't exactly let the cat out of the bag during her speech yesterday at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

While the review team delivered the report on April 17, officials will begin discussing the results publicly only after administration leaders have had a chance to assess them, Hathaway said.

Of note, although hardly surprising, are her signals that the report recommends direct White House leadership on the issue of cybersecurity. "It requires leading from the top -- from the White House, to departments and agencies, state, local, tribal governments, the C-suite, and to the local classroom and library," she said.

At the Pentagon, similarly clear reporting lines are beginning to form: From the defense secretary to a four-star U.S. Cyber Command chief to the service-led component commands for cyber.

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